Since his debut, Liu Tianhao's (ID: Yi Zheng) career path has been accompanied by a variety of voices. Because of the operation, playing style and even age, he has encountered too many puzzles and criticisms. At first, he also developed self-doubt. But with the rich experience of the arena, Liu Tianhao said that although he still cares about the evaluation of the outside world, he will no longer be affected by these voices.
For Liu Tianhao, the best way to prove himself is to win the championship and crush the doubts of the outside world with one championship trophy after another. "Now, no matter what I experience and what I face, I feel like I can carry it and I can bear it."
Liu Tianhao wants to prove himself with the championship. Official image courtesy of the Glory of Kings Tournament
"Steamed fish is a must" relationship is good, although each is its own master still often about dinner
In the eyes of his family, Liu Tianhao has been a very independent and self-care child since he was a child. When he was in elementary school, the school was far from home, and he was only in the second grade, carrying a school bag every day, taking a bus for more than an hour to go to school, and walking for more than twenty minutes after getting off the bus. Therefore, when he proposed to run from his hometown in Jiangsu to Shanghai to become a professional e-sports player, the family did not worry too much.
In the 2018 KPL (Glory of Kings Professional League) Autumn Qualifiers, Liu Tianhao made his debut, and his team is TOPM (now Changsha TES). Unfortunately, the team was unable to qualify for the main tournament. Later, at the draft, he was selected by JC (now Shenzhen DYG) to start his first KPL main game.
At DYG, Liu Tianhao has experienced rotation and has also temporarily withdrawn from the starting lineup. Because of the radical playing style, it is easy to drop points, which made him controversial for a time. In the finals of the 2020 Glory of Kings World Championship Cup, DYG, who took the match point first, was achieved by the opponent to "let three chase four" and was relegated to the second place.
In the autumn of the same year, Wang Qijun (ID: Xiaoyi), who was loaned to MTG, returned, and the addition of head coach Song Jize (ID: SK) also added wings to the team. At the 2020 KPL Autumn Finals, DYG's new king stood up and Liu Tianhao won the first championship of his career.
Recalling the scene of the first championship, Liu Tianhao was very impressed, "When we won the world championship, we were flipped 3-0, which was more sad for me. Talking to SK about this, he said, this time, as long as we are 3-0, we can help us win the championship. ”
At that time, the main team of DYG was Wu Jinxiang (ID: Qingqing), Zhou Wenxie (ID: Xiao Jue), Wang Qijun, Liu Tianhao and Li Yuhao (ID: Xingyu). The audience took the ID harmonic sound and called them "steamed fish a must". In Liu Tianhao's view, the most "absolute" thing at that time was that the cohesion of the whole team was very strong, Song Jize united everyone closely, and the club had only one goal from top to bottom - the championship.
Until now, this group of teammates still has a good relationship. During this year's spring games, Liu Tianhao also asked Wu Jinxiang and Li Yuhao to have dinner together. When Liu Tianhao encountered pressure from public opinion, Wang Qijun also took the initiative to stand up for him. "He (Wang Qijun) told me on WeChat that he felt warmer."
Liu Tianhao (left) poses with old teammate Wang Qijun (right). Photo: Liu Tianhao Weibo
"The best way to prove yourself is to win the championship"
In the 2021 KPL Spring Games, DYG lost the first game of the playoffs. During the autumn transfer period, Liu Tianhao, who gradually felt that he had lost his passion, chose to list, and he wanted to change the environment to see if there could be a new breakthrough. During this time, he went to Wuhan eStarPro to try out, but did not expect that the club would actually buy himself.
On September 13, 2021, eStarPro announced the joining of Liu Tianhao. "I knew that in the last hour of the last day of the transfer period, I was shot by SK. I was excited to know about this, because I thought this opportunity was too difficult. ”
In this autumn transfer period, eStarPro has undergone major personnel adjustments, except for Yano Rothyuan (ID: Huahai), the rest of the main players have been listed and transferred. In the first season after the reorganization, the eStarPro new five, including Liu Tianhao, lifted the autumn championship trophy.
It wasn't until January this year, after eStarPro advanced to the Challengers Cup finals, in a documentary filmed by the league, an interview with Liu Tianhao during last fall's tournament made everyone understand why he cared so much about the transfer result. In the interview, he described himself as "not cost-effective". 'I'm older and I haven't been very good in two seasons, so no matter which club chooses to buy, it's going to be under a lot of pressure. Liu Tianhao said.
In Liu Tianhao's view, that transfer was crucial to his career. For his mentor Song Jize, Liu Tianhao was also extremely grateful, "At my lowest point, it was SK who chose me. ”
After winning the KPL Spring Finals again this year, Liu Tianhao sent a message: age is never a reason to stop improving. As the oldest player in the team, Liu Tianhao is often said to be "old and in a state of decline". "I care about these reviews, but I'm not going to be affected by them, and I'm going to prove myself in the way I think is best, which is to win the championship." Liu Tianhao said.
From winning the first championship at DYG to eStarPro achieving the "triple crown" of the League Cup, Liu Tianhao said and did it.
Winning the 2021 Autumn Tournament, Liu Tianhao (left) hugs and celebrates with his teammates. Official image courtesy of the Glory of Kings Tournament
Cheerful and outgoing, using chat and jokes to bring teammates closer together
During this summer's transfer period, eStarPro welcomed several new members. At the development road position, the team introduced player Jiang Longhui (ID: Wind Robbery) from the Fire Leopard Team. Liu Tianhao did not hide his appreciation for this teammate: "The wind robbery is very powerful in my eyes, and he brings me a lot of pressure. ”
In the first two rounds of the regular season, Jiang Longhui played two large games totaling 10 small innings, but failed to help the team win the final victory. After the game, he also received a lot of questions about it. Seeing that his friends are in such a situation, Liu Tianhao will take the initiative to share his past experiences and thoughts with him, "I will tell him that the players want to prove themselves, that is, to play well, cherish every opportunity to play, do not have baggage, and do not have pressure." I felt like he was who I was then, and I didn't want him to be under the same pressure as me, and it was because of me. ”
Not only for Jiang Longhui, but also for other teammates, Liu Tianhao also took great care of him. This tall-looking young man has a delicate mind. Xiang Yang (ID: Ziyang), a wandering player, commented that he is like the big brother in the team, who usually takes the initiative to adjust the atmosphere and provides a lot of help to everyone. "In fact, I am more cheerful and extroverted, and I like to chat with them, joke, and bring our relationship closer."
In Liu Tianhao's mouth, everyone in the team has their own nickname, Sun Linwei (ID: Tanran) is "Erlang", Huang Yaoqin (ID: QingRong) is "Huang Santu", Xiangyang is "Yang Sect", and Luo Siyuan (ID: Huahai) is "Squad Leader". "When I asked him, I would call him 'Squad Leader', and I would call him Luo Siyuan directly when I was giggling." Liu Tianhao added with a smile.
Looking back on the ups and downs along the way, Liu Tianhao believes that he has grown a lot, "No matter what I experience again, or what I face again, I can bear it and can bear it." Now, with good brothers around, it is even more powerful for him, looking forward to the future, he hopes to perform better in the usual training, "I hope that the next game can play well, my goal is to play better than the spring game." ”
- Quick questions and quick answers
Beijing News: What is the most difficult player to play against the line I have ever met?
Liu Tianhao: Yinuo (Xu Bicheng), when he was my opponent, I felt that it was difficult to play against him.
Beijing News: If you are not engaged in the e-sports industry, what job will you choose?
Liu Tianhao: I went to be a security guard, just as a security guard in our neighborhood.
Beijing News: Who do you most want to double row with?
Liu Tianhao: Sun Linwei, he has few strong words and will not think of me as a "dish". There is also (Guangzhou) TTG Qingqing, because I am more familiar with him, closer, he can also be strong, I am not happy to play, you can also scold him twice. When he was a teammate with me, he was also one of the people I pinched.
Beijing News: What is the highest score ever achieved in the peak competition?
Liu Tianhao: 2730, it was not easy to get to the top of the first, I remember clearly, of course, it was at the time of the autumn of 2020.
Beijing News: Who is the hero of this life?
Liu Tianhao: Marco Polo.
Beijing News: If you go back to the first day of playing KPL, what do you want to say to yourself?
Liu Tianhao: Don't be so floaty, calm and calm. It is useless to say anything, these things are not experienced personally, it is difficult to experience.
Beijing News reporter Zhao Xue
Edited by Zhang Yunfeng
Proofreading Lucy